Update on Saturday Morning Slam's Future

Saturday Morning Slam—WWE's kid-friendly show on the CW Network—has emerged as a pleasant surprise over the last year.

Despite being aimed primarily at children, the series has appeal to older wrestling fans. There have been good matches, funny segments and it provides under-used guys like Zack Ryder and Justin Gabriel TV time they might not have had otherwise.

It's also provides new general manger Mick Foley with a substantial role on WWE TV, at long last.

After his return to America's No. 1 wrestling promotion in late 2011, the company seemed to struggle to find something worthwhile for him to do. But his role as Saturday Morning Slam's eccentric authority figure has helped breathe fresh life into his character.

Free of the booking team restraints and backstage politics that pervade the main shows, Foley has been allowed to relax, joke around and generally have a good time.

Sadly, for all you Foley fans and Saturday Morning Slam watchers, it appears the future of the show is now being called into question. Dave Meltzer notes in this week's (subscribers-only) Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the series appears to be winding down:

I believe Saturday Morning Slam only has a few more weeks to run. I’d been told a few months back that CW considered it like a Saturday morning cartoon, in that they purchased a certain number of episodes for a season run. I don’t know if that means summer reruns and a new batch in the fall, or what. WWE never confirmed or denied it when asked. But the last two weeks there have been no episodes of Saturday Morning Slam taped. They tape the show a few weeks ahead.

Of course, assuming this is true, this isn't really a huge deal: Saturday Morning Slam is a disposable wrestling series that doesn't have any real impact on WWE storylines or angles.

But, as noted, it was still a fun little programme, and it gave several stars a chance to shine. That alone made it worth having around.